READER COMMENTS

Branco Weiss’ last gift

Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr. Branco Weiss, who died in 2010, bequeathed an estimated 100 million Swiss francs to Society in Science – The Branco Weiss Fellowship. This donation secures the future of the fellowship, which belongs to ETH Zurich and supports young researchers throughout the world.

MM / Roman Klingler

Branco Weiss lived with the attitude that belonging to the elite means not only to be privileged, but also to bear a big responsibility towards society. (Photograph: Rainer Spitzberger / Society in Science)
(large view)

In his will, Dr. Branco
Weiss increased a donation to Society in Science – The Branco Weiss Fellowship
that he made during his lifetime. Branco Weiss founded the fellowship in 2002
to support researchers all over the world shortly after completing their PhD,
and in 2010, the last year of his life, he transferred it entirely to ETH
Zurich taking effect January 1, 2011. The bequest, estimated to be around 100
million Swiss francs, will ensure that the fellowship can continue and expand.

Branco Weiss was associated with ETH Zurich throughout his life. He
graduated in chemical engineering in 1951, and later gave courses in
entrepreneurship and technology strategy in the Department of Mechanical and
Process Engineering. In 1998, ETH awarded him an honorary doctor’s degree.
Branco Weiss was also a major donor to ETH, for example sponsoring the Branco
Weiss Information Science Laboratory that was inaugurated in 2008 on the ETH
Science City campus.

Supporting courageous thinkers

Society in Science – The Branco Weiss Fellowship offers a generous
personal grant of up to five years for researchers shortly after their PhD. The
program supports projects throughout the world: fellows can come from anywhere,
and are able to conduct their research at any institution. Applicants need to
provide evidence of outstanding scientific achievement, outline a compelling
research project at the interface between science and society, and be prepared
to look beyond their own scientific horizon.

Professor Ralph Eichler, president of ETH Zurich, says: “Branco Weiss’s
donation opens up new dimensions for the promotion of young researchers. What
is even more important to us than the amount is the tremendous power we gain
from this fellowship. Society in Science is a unique organization that allows
us to test new research fields and meet young, highly talented researchers with
a limited institutional downside risk. The fellows get an opportunity to pursue
their research ideas and benefit from a maximum of academic freedom.”

Looking into the future

Professor Peter Chen, Director of Society in Science, also emphasizes
the strategic importance of the fellowship: “Branco Weiss has given us the
chance to look into the future. The fellowship gives ETH a strategic scouting
instrument for promising research areas that no other university has. Like most
innovations, Society in Science began with the vision of one man. Today, the
fellowship enhances ETH Zurich’s international visibility as a place where
excellence is recognized and promoted. Society in Science should not only
support individuals in their endeavor to build something new in their own
careers; we should bring together a critical mass of these young, innovative
thinkers so that, as they grow and move into positions of responsibility, they
know where, and from whom, they can find expertise outside of their own
specializations.”

The goals and basic terms of the fellowships are defined in the
endowment contract of 2010. As also stipulated in the contract, the fellowship
is managed by a directorate of two: Prof. Peter Chen, former Vice President of
Research at ETH Zurich, as operational director, and Prof. Heidi
Wunderli-Allenspach, who was Rector of ETH until August 2012 and who succeeds
Branco Weiss in a role comparable to that of the chair of a board of directors.

A growing number of
fellows

In its
first ten years of existence, the Society in Science program has already
supported 36 researchers, 21 of whom are currently fellows. In 2012, a total of
434 junior researchers applied for a fellowship, with eight subsequently chosen
as fellows. Since 2011 it has belonged to ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute
of Technology Zurich). Professor Peter Chen and Professor Heidi Wunderli-Allenspach
direct the fellowship program. Applications for the 2013 fellowship are invited
with a deadline of February 1, 2013. For more information visit: society-in-science.org

Links and References

By sending this comment you consent to its publication as a reader’s letter in ETH Life Online. The comment will remain in the medium’s archive after publication.

Threats, disrespectful contributions or those of a racist, sexist or violent nature will not be published. The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit comments or to refrain from publishing them. Comments which do not address the topic, or which contain irrelevant arguments, will not be published. No correspondence will be entered into in this regard.